CHAPTER 1
What is Corrections?
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the growth of the U.S. corrections system in the last 40 years and identify at least
three issues raised by that growth.
2. Define the systems framework and explain why it is useful.
1. Name the various components of the corrections system today and describe their functions.
2. Discuss what we can learn from the “great experiment of social control.”
3. Distinguish the basic assumptions of the penitentiary systems of Pennsylvania and New York.
4. Discuss the elements of the Cincinnati Declaration.
7. Understand the reforms advocated by the Progressives.
8. Discuss the forces and events that led to the present crime control model.
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Learning Objective 1: Describe the growth of the U.S. corrections system in the last 40
years and identify at least three issues raised by that growth.
,Growth of the system has changed how much people know about corrections
In 1973 the prison incarceration rate was 96 per 100,000 Americans
2
By 2008, after 37 years of steady growth, the U.S. imprisonment rate reached 506 per 100,000
Correctional population growth continued throughout the 1990s, although crime rates fell by
more than 50 percent between 1993 and 2007
Prison budgets, by far the most expensive portion of the overall penal system, grow even
when monies for education and others services lag
A stunning 1 percent of all adults are incarcerated
American Corrections Today
3-4
Patterns
Signs that a long-term pattern of prison population increases may be beginning to change
As of 2011, state prison populations have been dropping for three years
Correctional costs are also declining
Probation and jail inmate totals have dropped as well
Discussion Questions
Discuss what changes have led to the decrease in prison populations over the last few years
and if these changes are so effective, what has prevented correctional agencies and state
administrators from adopting these philosophies in the past.
, History
Prison populations have stabilized before in 2000 but quickly resumed
Well some states saw a reduction, half the states and the federal system increased
Expansion of Corrections
Liberals and Conservatives worry that expansion has affected some groups
Nearly 1/3 of all African American men in their twenties are under form of correctional control
5
Correctional costs are out of control
Prison budgets increase even as educational budgets lag
Probation and jail populations have also grown
Topic for public debate
Prison were alien in the past and the average American had no direct contact
Now, 7.5 million Americans are in the system or about 1 in 28 men in their thirties
If rates continue, 11 percent of male and 2 percent of female children born this year will go to
prison
Media Tool
“Italy Passes Bill to Ease Overcrowding”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/26/us-italy-prisons-idUSBRE95P11520130626
o Rueters reports on the overcrowding in Italian prisons
o Discussion: Could these same philosophies work in the United States? Explain.
See Assignment 1
, 6-7
The Purpose of Corrections
Punishment
From the earliest accounts of humankind, punishment has been used as one means of social
control, of compelling people to behave according to the norms and rules of society
Protecting society by defining limits of behavior
Three basic concepts of Western criminal law define the purpose and procedure
of criminal justice
Offense
Guilt
Punishment
The central purpose of corrections is to carry out the criminal sentence
Corrections—the variety of programs, services, facilities, and organizations responsible for the
management of individuals who have been accused or convicted of criminal acts
Corrections encompasses all the legal responses of society to some prohibited behavior
Correctional activities are performed by public and private organizations
A Systems Framework for Studying Corrections
Learning Objective 2: Define the systems framework and explain why it is useful.
What is Corrections?
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the growth of the U.S. corrections system in the last 40 years and identify at least
three issues raised by that growth.
2. Define the systems framework and explain why it is useful.
1. Name the various components of the corrections system today and describe their functions.
2. Discuss what we can learn from the “great experiment of social control.”
3. Distinguish the basic assumptions of the penitentiary systems of Pennsylvania and New York.
4. Discuss the elements of the Cincinnati Declaration.
7. Understand the reforms advocated by the Progressives.
8. Discuss the forces and events that led to the present crime control model.
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Learning Objective 1: Describe the growth of the U.S. corrections system in the last 40
years and identify at least three issues raised by that growth.
,Growth of the system has changed how much people know about corrections
In 1973 the prison incarceration rate was 96 per 100,000 Americans
2
By 2008, after 37 years of steady growth, the U.S. imprisonment rate reached 506 per 100,000
Correctional population growth continued throughout the 1990s, although crime rates fell by
more than 50 percent between 1993 and 2007
Prison budgets, by far the most expensive portion of the overall penal system, grow even
when monies for education and others services lag
A stunning 1 percent of all adults are incarcerated
American Corrections Today
3-4
Patterns
Signs that a long-term pattern of prison population increases may be beginning to change
As of 2011, state prison populations have been dropping for three years
Correctional costs are also declining
Probation and jail inmate totals have dropped as well
Discussion Questions
Discuss what changes have led to the decrease in prison populations over the last few years
and if these changes are so effective, what has prevented correctional agencies and state
administrators from adopting these philosophies in the past.
, History
Prison populations have stabilized before in 2000 but quickly resumed
Well some states saw a reduction, half the states and the federal system increased
Expansion of Corrections
Liberals and Conservatives worry that expansion has affected some groups
Nearly 1/3 of all African American men in their twenties are under form of correctional control
5
Correctional costs are out of control
Prison budgets increase even as educational budgets lag
Probation and jail populations have also grown
Topic for public debate
Prison were alien in the past and the average American had no direct contact
Now, 7.5 million Americans are in the system or about 1 in 28 men in their thirties
If rates continue, 11 percent of male and 2 percent of female children born this year will go to
prison
Media Tool
“Italy Passes Bill to Ease Overcrowding”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/26/us-italy-prisons-idUSBRE95P11520130626
o Rueters reports on the overcrowding in Italian prisons
o Discussion: Could these same philosophies work in the United States? Explain.
See Assignment 1
, 6-7
The Purpose of Corrections
Punishment
From the earliest accounts of humankind, punishment has been used as one means of social
control, of compelling people to behave according to the norms and rules of society
Protecting society by defining limits of behavior
Three basic concepts of Western criminal law define the purpose and procedure
of criminal justice
Offense
Guilt
Punishment
The central purpose of corrections is to carry out the criminal sentence
Corrections—the variety of programs, services, facilities, and organizations responsible for the
management of individuals who have been accused or convicted of criminal acts
Corrections encompasses all the legal responses of society to some prohibited behavior
Correctional activities are performed by public and private organizations
A Systems Framework for Studying Corrections
Learning Objective 2: Define the systems framework and explain why it is useful.
